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CLIMATE CRISIS

‘Over 40C’: What will summers in Paris be like in future?

In June 2022, France sweltered under an unusually early heatwave - but experts have warned that these conditions, regarded today as extreme, will become the norm sooner rather than later.

'Over 40C': What will summers in Paris be like in future?
(Photo by Stefano Rellandini / AFP)

Regional climate experts warn the Paris region is on track to see average temperatures rise by 3C in a century “if greenhouse gas emissions of human activities are not stopped.”

And the Groupe régional d’expertise sur le changement climatique (Grec) in the Paris region of Île-de-France is now saying that average temperatures in the region will continue to rise at an accelerating rate. 

In the past 72 years, Île-de-France has seen its average temperature increase by 2C. By 2050, just 28 years from now, that figure could increase by an additional 1C – meaning average temperatures in the greater Paris region could increase by 3C in a century. 

That roughly means that the number of “heatwave” days recorded in the Paris region – when temperatures are above normal for that time of year – will rise from 7 annually to between 28 to 30 days each year by 2070.

Part of the problem is something known as the urban heat sink effect – in which large towns and cities stay warmer at night because buildings and even roads release heat at night, when it is cooler.

As a result, night-time temperatures in towns and cities remain higher than in more rural areas. And every morning starts a little hotter than previous day, making cities more and more stifling. Night-time temperature in Paris can be up to 10C higher than in rural areas of – a difference recorded during the deadly 2003 heatwave.

The study also warned that the area would be subject to devastating widespread flooding.

Nationally, temperature records tumbled last month. In Biarritz, on the southwest coast of France, the highest temperature ever – 42.9C – was recorded on June 18th. On the same day, Tarbes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, and Rochefort Saint-Aignan, Charente-Maritime, also recorded their highest-ever temperatures since records began, while more than 150 towns and cities set new temperature records for the month of June.

During the same heatwave, 35C was recorded at the Orly-Athis-Mons weather station – which the Grec group uses for its observations in Île-de-France.

Grec climatologists said that high temperatures will become increasingly common in the region. Board members Robert Vautard and Nathalie de Noblet said in a statement that the same station has recorded similar temperatures in June just twice previously in 75 years – in 1947 and 2017.

They said the trend is for such temperatures to be reached more often in the years to come: “It is to be expected that this type of event will become more and more usual if the greenhouse gas emissions of human activities are not stopped,” they said, adding that – without climate change – high temperature records in the region would be about 2C lower.

The Grec report mirrors national and international studies. Shortly after the country’s last heatwave ended the director of France’s Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques said: “This heatwave is exceptional in terms of its precocity. This type of event in mid-June is extremely rare.”

But, while they are exceptional today, scientists predict they will be the standard within just a few years.  “Today, scientific knowledge on heatwaves is very clear. Any heatwave event is made more intense and severe by climate change … by the increase in temperature in the atmosphere resulting from greenhouse gas emissions.”

Only three years ago the highest temperature in France – 46C – was recorded in Verargues, Hérault, on June 28, 2019. The top 12 temperatures on record in France were set that day alone. 

Records show that, of the 43 heatwaves France has endured between 1947 and 2020, nine occurred before 1989. 

And a second heatwave this summer is already here. Forecasters are predicting temperatures could reach 40C in southeast France by Wednesday, July 6th, after temperatures got close to the mark on Sunday.

For a heat wave alert to be officially triggered, certain temperatures must be reached both during the day and at night for three days in a row. The trigger thresholds vary according to the area – the south of the country needs to be warmer than the north.

With global warming continuing, heatwaves will become increasingly frequent, according to climatologist Françoise Vimeux: “During the second half of the 19th century a heat wave occurred once every 50 years. Now it happens every 10 years – it will get worse. 

“We are heading towards warming levels of 1.5 degrees, and so the probability [of a heatwave] will be once every five years.”

Météo France’s climate predictions indicate that, by 2050, the deadly heatwave of 2003 would be considered part of “a normal summer, even slightly cool”. 

That was the summer in which 15,000 excess deaths were recorded in France, including 5,000 in Paris, and attributed to the heat. It prompted the government of the day to set up the emergency response programme that can be implemented today.

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WEATHER

France braces for rain and storms over long Easter weekend

The weather in France is forecast to be unsettled over the holiday period, with the south-east of the country, in particular, set for severe storms.

France braces for rain and storms over long Easter weekend

According to Météo France, rainy spell after rainy spell will be the norm over the Easter weekend across most of the country, with little sight of clear, blue skies, while an “épisode méditerranéen” is expected in the south-east of the country.

A low-pressure area brought high winds to parts of France on Good Friday, with two départements in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region – Loire and Rhône – on orange weather alert at 12noon.

Wind gusts of up to 110km/h are expected in exposed areas, according to Météo-France.

It’s all relative, but the best of what’s set to be a pretty poor weekend of weather is expected on Saturday. Rain and storms will dominate all day from the Grand Est to the Mediterranean regions – except around the Pyrenees and in Corsica, both of which should enjoy blue skies for most of the day. Strong winds could cause problems in eastern areas, and rain is forecast overnight in the south-east.

On Easter Sunday, widespread rain is forecast, with the south-east of the country braced for stormy conditions, bringing – according to some forecast models – up to three months’ rainfall in just 48 hours.

By early afternoon, showers will be widespread across the whole of the country, while winds are expected to reach 80km/h along the Rhône. Snow will fall on the Pyrenees and the Alps.

Temperatures will range from 11C to 15C in most regions, rising to around 20C in Corsica.

Easter Monday, meanwhile, is forecast to be rainy across almost all of France, with only the Pyrenees regions seeing any sunshine. After Sunday, however, it is likely to be regarded as an improvement.

Unsettled conditions are then expected to last until Wednesday, before temperatures start to rise heading into the first weekend of schools’ staggered Spring holiday period – though the skies are likely to remain grey.

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